Ulysses Kokkinos

Ulysses Kokkinos (1948 – 3 January 2022) was a Turkish-born Greek Australian soccer player and manager, known primarily for his career in Victorian soccer, in particular with South Melbourne Hellas. He also played in Greece with Panathinaikos, Paniliakos and Panserraikos. In the early 1970s, he represented the state of Victoria against various touring sides, making five appearances and scoring twice.

Biography Kokkinos was born in Istanbul to Greek parents. His father Yannis was a timber merchant and wanted him to attend university and then go into the family business, but Kokkinos' prowess in soccer had led Lefter Küçükandonyadis to their door. Küçükandonyadis, who was Turkey's captain and of Greek descent, convinced Kokkinos' father to allow him to play for Pera Club, an amateur sports club based in Istanbul. However, in 1964, the Kokkinos family were forced to move to Athens, in the midst of the Cyprus dispute, where Turkish Prime Minister İsmet İnönü renounced the Greco-Turkish Treaty of Friendship of 1930, and took actions against the Greek minority. This meant that the family shop was locked, their bank accounts were frozen and they only had a week to leave the country. In the 1968 season, he made two more appearances for South, until he moved back to Greece to play for Panathinaikos on the invitation of Nestoridis. His former club Proodeftiki attempted to delay his signing, when they tried to enforce their original contract. Kokkinos travelled with the team on a pre-season tour to the United States, and performed well in a match against Inter Milan. After the match, Kokkinos and Vasilis Konstantinou violated a curfew by attending a party, and when they arrived back at the hotel, manager Lakis Petropoulos was waiting for them and sent them back to Greece. and returned to play for South in the 1970 season. However, his second stint at South would be brief, as he rejoined PAO midway through the season, where Ferenc Puskás had just been appointed manager. Kokkinos quickly fell out with Puskás, after the Hungarian attempted to play him at left-back a couple of times, so he decided to go back to Australia, with the intention of playing for South again. His third stint with South also ended midway through the season, and was speculated by fans as a reason why the club were beaten by a point in that season's state league. Kokkinos left South to join amateur club Paniliakos where Nestoridis was the manager, and then signed for Panserraikos, with his only goals of the season saving the club from relegation.

He returned to Victorian soccer the following year, turning out for Fitzroy Alexander, South's crosstown rivals. By June 1974, he was back at South for the fourth time in his career, and finally won the State League, as well as that year's Dockerty Cup. In 1980, he moved to Perth as player-manager for Floreat Athena. However, the season ended in disaster as Athena were relegated. In 1982, he briefly played for Northcote City.

Although now a married man, his extramarital affairs continued, as did his alcohol and gambling addictions, and later, a dependence on cocaine. He fathered a son and then attempted to go into business, but the constant drug use led to a divorce. Kokkinos relocated to Queensland to start over, but he served two more jail terms in Melbourne for cocaine offences. It finally came to a head, when his father visited him in jail and broke down in tears. Kokkinos had never seen his father cry, and believed that despite his success in soccer, he had dishonoured the family name. He reconciled with his father, who returned to Greece and died in 2001. Kokkinos fathered another son, and later settled in Mordialloc, still keeping in touch with former players and attending South Melbourne's home matches. In 2009, he was inducted by South to their Hall of Fame.